1601King`s GrantThe Sovereign would provide a `King`s Grant` with the royal seal affixed but could revoke at any time. (No private ownership). Charters were issued to `Councils.` Land Patents were issued to `Patentees`.

1602Martha`s VineyardBartholomew Gosnold explores Cape Cod and names Martha`s Vineyard after his daughter and the grapes found there.

1603Martin Pring exploration stops in Plymouth Bay and sends trading ship up the Piscataqua River in Maine

1604King James I takes the England throne after Queen Elizabeth I (1559-1604) dies

1604Puritan & Catholic AlienationKing James I was alienating the Puritans and the Catholics. He also got involved with a series of quarrels with Parliament

1605Samuel de Champlain explores coast of Essex County to Cape Ann, which he call `Beauport` and maps locations of native agricultural people.

1605Englishman George Weymouth explores Maine Coast and kidnaps five Native Americans, including "Squanto" who came back and served as interpreter at Plymouth

1606King James I issues letter patents to Northern and Southern Virginia Companies, overlapping grants to settle between the 34th degree of latitude and the 45th degree of latitude

1606Beginning of British EmpireKing James I grants two royal charters: Virginia and New England - the beginning of the first British Empire.

1607English Separatists EmigrateEnglish (Separatists) leave England for Holland for religious freedom. (Later in 1620, they, with the aid of Virginian associates, show up on the shores of Plymouth, Mass and were known as `Pilgrims`

1608Samuel de Champlain, French, establishes Quebec Colony. He also at this time took soundings from shallow draft boats up the Merrimack River, mapped Cape Ann as `Le Beauport`, noting it as having a having friendly Native Plantation.

1608Henry Hudson, working for the East India Company, sails up the Manittus River (later called the Hudson River) in the ship `Half Moon`. Natives drink Dutch-provided rum on the southern island called Manhattan (`place of drunkenness`)

1609Henry Hudson explores Massachusetts Bay

1609Native Americans speaking the Algonquian language ( Narragansetts, Pequots, Wampanoags, Pawtuckets, Abenakis, Delaware, and Powahatons) were first to greet the European settlers (English, Dutch, and French)

1609(James) Montowampate a.k.a. Sagamore James, second son born to Nanepashemet and his wife in Pawtucket (Lynn)

1614Capt. John Smith explores Essex County noting abundance of non-hostile Indian villages along the coast

1614Capt. John Smith visits North ShoreCapt. John Smith, English explorer, visits coast of North Shore

1614Dutch explore southern New England; founder of Block Island, R.I., sails up the Connecticut River and establishes a trading post near Hartford and visits Manhattan Island, N.Y.

1614Capt. John Smith, famed English explorer, linked to Pocahontas of Virginia, and dubbed `Admiral of New England` by his boss Sir Fernando Gorges, maps the coast of New England. It is a reasonable facsimile and good representation of the N.E. geography. He named the Isles of Shoals, N.H. as `Smith Isles`, `Plum Island` for all of its plums (Rose Hips), Gloucester as `Cape Anne` and the `River Charles` after the young Prince Charles.

1614Adrian Block settles at Fort Orange on the Hudson River (Albany, N.Y.)

1615Tarrantines attack local Indians at Beverly Brook (Methuen)

1615War breaks out in Maine between Penobscots and Tarrantines. Nanepashemet sends war party to aid the Penobscots, which prompted later retaliation and his death and the destruction of his vast federation.

1616(George) Wenepoykin a.k.a. Sagamore George, third son born to Nanepashemet and his wife in Pawtucket (Lynn)

1619Nanapashemet, Great Sagamore of the Massachusetts Federation and Sachem of the Pawtuckets, killed by Tarrantines (Maine) at his fortified camp in Medford.

1619Squaw Sachem, wife of Nanapashemet, succeeds him with three sons to rule over the Massachusetts Federation.

1619Following Nanapashemet`s death, the Massachusetts Federation, reaching from Portsmouth, N.H. to Brattleboro, VT, shrinks from 6,000 square miles to less than 1,000 square miles (Concord east to Chelsea and lower Essex County)

1619A New Massachusetts Federation is formed south of Boston led by Chickataubet, Sachem of the Wessagusett (Weymouth)

1619Only the Naumkeags (Salem), the Saugus (Lynn-Saugus), the Winnisimmetts (Chelsea) and the Musketaquids (Concord) remained loyal to Squaw Sachem

1619Masconomet, Sagamore of the Agawams (Ipswich) and Sagamores Passa Quo and Sagga Hue of the Pentuckets (Haverhill) become loyal to Passaconaway, Great Sachem of the Pennacooks Federation (Southern New Hampshire)

1620Massasoit, Sagamore of the Wampanoags (Plymouth) calls for Passaconaway and Masconomet to meet with the Pilgrims. The consensus among the sachems was that an alliance with the English would be most beneficial for protection against their enemies.

1620Sir Fernando Gorges and associates of Northern Virginia Company receive new patent to plant, settle, govern and rule in New England at Plymouth.

1620`Mayflower` PilgrimsPlymouth Colony established

Four sets of Timelines wre created for this project to highlight
significant events during the 17th Century among four categories:

Native Americans
Essex County
Mass. Bay Colony
Europe.

These Timelines are broken out into twenty year intervals:

1600-1620
1621-1640
1641-1660
1661-1680
1681-1700.

The multiple sets of Timelines were then merged into a compostite and
consistent colors were assigned to the four categories. The intent
was to allow users to follow the flow of events in one category as
well as the others in the same period. Some events in one category
were very dynamic causing reaction or opportunites in other
categories. This is particularly notable with the five changes
in the English Crown during this century."